Commission’s deregulation agenda causes concern

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Decisions on the 2015 Commission work programme are stalled as lobbyists, NGOs, MEPs and member states object to plans to drop draft legislation.

by Dave Keating on 05.12.2014 / 07:00 CET

                       

The past week has seen a flurry of meetings about the European Commission’s 2015 work programme, but the Commission appears no closer to agreeing what draft legislation should stay and what should be dropped.

Frans Timmermans, the Commission vice-president in charge of better regulation, appears intent on dropping some pending legislation put forward by the Barroso Commission, under the banner of “political discontinuity”. Suggestions about what could be withdrawn were floated in a letter sent to all commissioners last month.

But since then the Commission has been under attack from all sides about withdrawing proposals that are already working their way through the legislative process. The chairs of the European Parliament’s committees met the college of commissioners on Tuesday night (2 December) and expressed grave concern about the so-called ‘kill list’ of legislation that is in jeopardy.

Though it might be assumed that the push for legislative pruning is being driven by member states, many countries have objected to the Commission’s plans. On Monday, environment ministers from 11 member states – including France, Germany and Italy –wrote to Timmermans and Jean-Claude Juncker urging them not to withdraw a clean-air policy package that was proposed in December 2013 and a resource-efficiency and circular economy package that was published in July this year. Both were mentioned in the ‘kill list’ letter sent to commissioners as ‘up for review’. The letter was not signed by the UK, which supports deregulation, nor by any central and eastern European member state with the exception of Slovenia.

The Commission is scheduled to approve its work programme for 2015 on 16 December. According to Commission sources, it had been hoped that a draft programme could be agreed at a meeting of Commission vice-presidents on Tuesday. No such formal draft has yet emerged, and plans remain vague.

The Commission is also being lobbied furiously by industry and NGOs. The European Container Glass Federation (FEVE) has written to Juncker urging him not to withdraw the circular economy package. Adeline Farrelly, secretary-general of FEVE, told European Voice that the package is “an opportunity to boost jobs and growth and, on the other hand, to limit waste and harmful emissions”.

“Ultimately, we need a predictable policy framework which sets a path to a more sustainable Europe and facilitates future investment decisions in the glass packaging industry,” she said.

Industry association FoodDrinkEurope is also urging the Commission to maintain the proposal. “The reduction of food waste generation is a key element of the circular economy package and an important issue at the forefront of the food and drink industry,” said Tove Larsson, the group’s director of environmental affairs.

Campaign groups are also warning the Commission against withdrawals. “The proposed withdrawal of the EU Clean Air Policy Package and the National Emissions Ceiling Directive from the 2015 work programme is very worrying,” said Bert Brunekreef, chair of the European Respiratory Society’s environment and health committee, adding that both packages “must and should stay”.

The Commission is now in a difficult position, torn between a perceived desire by the public for less EU regulation (a perception driven by national governments and media), and the actual demands of national governments and stakeholders. While industry groups such as BusinessEurope have called for deregulation in general, when it comes to scrapping specific proposals, industries become concerned about a lack of regulatory certainty – and a return to a patchwork of national regulations across Europe.

There has been growing alarm in Brussels about the deregulation agenda being driven by Juncker and Timmermans, particularly since it seems to be targeting environmental legislation. Timmermans added fuel to the fire last month when he suggested he might withdraw a proposal limiting the use of plastic bags.

On Monday, Karmenu Vella, the commissioner for the environment, said at the annual conference of the European Environment Bureau that the EU cannot go on adding “layer after layer” of environment legislation without running the risk of damaging the economy. But he added: “From our side, let me reassure that there is no intention to weaken environmental legislation.”

Yesterday (4 December), competition ministers meeting in Brussels adopted a resolution backing the conclusions of the recent Stoiber report on red tape, and calling for targets to reduce the ‘regulatory burden’. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) issued a blistering press release in response, saying that a target “is sure to be arbitrary, puts the onus on getting rid of regulation for the sake of it, and puts at risk good regulation which protects workers, consumers or the environment”.

ETUC’s Veronica Nilsson said the Commission’s regulatory fitness review, initiated last year by the Barroso Commission and set to be extended by Juncker, will put EU citizens at risk. “Much-needed legislation – such as extending maternity leave and exposure limits to cancer-causing chemicals – are victims of the so-called regulatory fitness programme,” she said. “I am amazed that ministers are being presented with draft conclusions that say not one positive thing about EU regulation.”

Stakeholders are increasingly worried that the Commission is pursuing ‘deregulation for deregulation’s sake’ in order to win a public relations battle. At the same time, the Commission is trying to respond to a media narrative in Europe that the EU is producing too much red tape. The 2015 work programme will be the first major test of how it will navigate these stormy waters.